Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Dear friends in Jesus, our Good Shepherd,

We have been given God's undeserved grace. Not just with food, shelter, and money... The Lord has shown his saving love for us in Jesus. We treasure the news that God has given us through Jesus a gift of forgiveness, peace with God, and a heavenly home. We know that we did nothing to deserve this gift. Our Lord simply has a loving and giving heart that wants to save us and all people.

Since we have tasted God's undeserved grace, let us never disregard a soul that Jesus has paid for, even if sin had carried them away. May we value other people just as much as Jesus valued them.  May that thought move us to reach out to fellow sinners with the news of eternal life in Jesus. That is why Jesus came--"to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10).

Sunday's worship focus: The believer loves the lost like Christ. The righteous live by faith; yet how easy it is for the righteous to slip into self-righteous judgment of other sinners, forgetting the grace that has been shown them. This Sunday, Christ calls us to love the lost like he does and rejoice over every sinner that “once was lost, but now is found.”

See you Sunday!

Church Picnic--This Sunday:

On Sunday we will have our annual church picnic after worship.  This year we will be having the picnic on our church property.  I encourage everyone to come.  This is a great opportunity to get to know your brothers and sisters of the Good Shepherd family.  Feel free to wear picnic attire to church.  

Since we are having it on site, we asking for your help getting things set up after worship. Food: Hamburgers, hotdogs, juice boxes, and water will be provided.  Please bring a side or dessert to share.  If you would like anything else to drink, please bring it along with you.   Set Up: We will need help setting up tents, table and chairs.  If you have a popup tent you can bring, please let me know.  Games: We are arranging a corn hole tournament.  If you have corn hole boards, please bring them along.  Feel free to bring other games as well.  We'll try to get a kickball game with adults/kids on the soccer field.  Grilling/Food: We are looking for a couple of people to help with grilling the food.  We will have everything you need.  For different opportunities to help, click here to sign up:  Picnic Sign-up

Other Updates:

Welcome Home Sunday, October 20
On Sunday, October 20, we will celebrate WELCOME HOME SUNDAY. Our hope is to have our entire church family—100% of our members—come together.
It happens: a believer stops going to church. It could be for a number of reasons.

• He had a disagreement with someone at church.
• Life got busy. Weekends were full of events, and church was lost in the hustle.
• He simply didn’t feel like it one Sunday. That made it easier to skip the next Sunday… and the next. Soon, not going to church was the new norm.

Note what I wrote: “A believer stops going to church.” You don’t become an unbeliever the moment you stop going to church. However, Scripture does say, “Faith comes from hearing the message” (Romans 10:17). If I remove myself from regular contact with God’s Word, my faith will slowly die. I won’t feel it, because my faith is not tied into my nervous system. I will probably still remember the Lord’s Prayer, some Bible passages, some hymn verses. However, remembering those things is NOT the same as having a living, saving faith. That type of faith “comes from hearing the message” on a regular basis. You also lose the connection to the Christian community that our Creator designed us to need. Christ intends for the Church to function as a family.
Welcome Home Sunday is a celebration of that Christian family. How great would it be to see smiling faces you haven’t seen in a while… to shake the rafters with the joyful singing of that many saints. Welcome Home Sunday serves as a great opportunity for those who have stopped going to church to come back.
Maybe it is someone you know: a sibling, a son, a friend, someone you used to serve with on a church committee. They have not been in church for a long time. In love, could you reach out to them and encourage them to come with you on Welcome Home Sunday. Assure them no one is going to look down on them for having been absent. We will simply be happy to have them back home. Jesus wants them to know the peace and security you only have by dwelling in his home. 
So, can you please set October 20 aside? Do not plan a trip that weekend. If you have something going on that day, could it start after worship? Again, we want to have 100% of Good Shepherd’s members present—one big family, knit together by Christ’s grace.

Area Reformation Presentation and Worship: November 2-3
Each year the people of our Houston-area churches gather together for a Reformation Festival. There is a presentation on Saturday. There is worship and dinner on Sunday. Here are the details: The Reformation Worship will be on Sunday, November 3rd at 3:30 pm at Divine Savior in Sienna Plantation (770 Water Lakes Blvd, Missouri City, TX 77459). The Guest Preacher is Prof. Brad Wordell from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. There will be a dinner provided following the service. If you would be interested in singing in the Mass Choir for this event, there is a practice that Sunday at 2:30 pm. Please ask a pastor for the music ahead of time. The Reformation Presentation will be on Saturday, Nov. 2nd from 10:00-11:30am, at Divine Savior in Sienna Plantation. The presenter is Prof. Brad Wordell (WLS). The Topic: The Reformation Continues throughout the Word (The presentation will discuss how the tenets of the Lutheran Reformation continue to be emphasized in new contexts and relations as we develop sister church bodies throughout the world.) There will be light refreshments for the presentation, but no lunch will be served. All are welcome!

Online Sermons and Podcasts
If you would like to watch or share the sermons at Good Shepherd, you may find these online at https://www.gslcthewoodlands.org/sermons. You may also subscribe to our sermon podcasts on your mobile device by clicking HERE.

From our church body:

WELS: Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod - www.wels.net
 

Greetings in our gracious Lord! We hope all is well with your family and you, your ministries, and the people whom you serve. In 2018, God’s grace opened the door to an unprecedented mission opportunity for our synod. The communist Vietnamese government invited WELS to build a theological training facility in the capital city of Hanoi. In December 2018, WELS began encouraging special offerings with the goal of receiving $2 million to purchase land, construct the campus, and cover the initial two years of operational costs for the training facility. Since then, by God’s grace, WELS members, congregations, and schools have contributed almost $1.7 million towards our $2 million goal. We praise our Lord for this wonderful response and thank you for your generous support! In April, a memorandum of understanding was signed by WELS and Vietnamese Fellowship Church representatives confirming we can move forward with all land purchase, construction, and training plans. Land has been purchased and cleared, and construction negotiations are currently underway. Construction begins in October. Rev. Bounkeo Lor has accepted the call and was commissioned to serve as permanent Hmong Asia Ministry Coordinator in July. Pastor Lor will continue to oversee the education program that he and members of the Pastoral Studies Institute are currently developing and implementing. Other calls are currently being made to staff the theological education center in Hanoi once it is built. Please rejoice with us in God’s blessings and pray for God’s continued help in our endeavors. Also consider how you can help us reach our goal of $2 million in order to share the love of Jesus with our Hmong brothers and sisters. Initial or repeat gifts can be submitted using a “Grace-Hmong outreach in Vietnam” coupon and return envelope sent to your congregation, an acknowledgement coupon sent in response to your previous gift(s), or by mailing a check payable to WELS with “Grace-Hmong” in the memo line to N16W23377 Stone Ridge Dr, Waukesha, WI, 53188. Feel free to contact the Ministry of Christian Giving for any assistance by calling 800-827-5482 or e-mailing mcg@wels.net. Thank you for your consideration in support of this unprecedented opportunity! Yours in Christ,

Our CHURCH is a family of believers who gather to worship and serve the Lord, led by our Good Shepherd, Jesus. We focus on faith; We feel like family; We foster fellowship. It is our prayer that you will gather together with us!

Our LEARNING CENTER offers a Christ-centered, quality education in a safe and loving environment, serving children 18 months through transition.